MAURIZIO SARRI has risked the wrath of Chelsea fans by telling them Jose Mourinho deserves more respect.
Manchester United boss Mourinho was verbally abused by Blues supporters on Saturday as the Special One held up three fingers to illustrate the three titles he won at Chelsea.
But current chief Sarri says the Jose-baiting is out of order.
Sarri said: “Yes. Mourinho here has won and so I think that we need to respect him and to respect everybody who has won a trophy for the club.”
The United manager was at the centre of a tunnel bust-up during Saturday’s game when Chelsea coach Marco Ianni goaded him after Ross Barkley’s injury-time goal made it 2-2.
Sarri accepted Chelsea were wrong and duly apologised for their actions.
As a result, Ianni is set to receive a club fine and could also be hit by an FA charge on Monday.
Mourinho added: “It is not my reaction, it is Sarri’s assistant.
“Don’t do what everyone does and say, ‘It’s Mourinho who does things.’ They have apologised, everything is fine.”
After the match, Mourinho was still raging and he was waiting near the Chelsea dressing room before Sarri brought out his coach to apologise.
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Meanwhile, Eden Hazard has handed Chelsea an injury scare after hurting his back.
The Belgian star suffered the problem during the Stamford Bridge draw after suffering some touch tackles from Ashley Young and Nemanja Vidic.
Hazard needed treatment following a challenge from Young – who was booked by referee Mike Dean – during the opening period and has now suffered more pain.
Hazard was kept on the pitch for the full 90 minutes by boss Sarri but believes his performance suffered due to the knocks.
Chelsea will now wait to see whether he will be fit for Thursday’s Europa League clash at home to BATE Borisov but he could still start on the bench in any case. Hazard’s side then travel to Burnley on Sunday.
Hazard has been arguably the best-performing player in Europe this season and it would be a massive blow if he was ruled out of action for a couple of weeks.
